Method and apparatus for notification of message reception according to property of received message

ABSTRACT

A method and an apparatus for notification of a message reception according to a property of a received message are disclosed. A first terminal receives a message transmitted from a second terminal, determines a notification method corresponding to the received message based on a result of the analysis of the received message, and then outputs a notification signal according to the determined notification method.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION(S) AND CLAIM OF PRIORITY

The present application is related to and claims priority from and thebenefit under 35 U.S.C. §119(a) of Korean Patent Application No.10-2013-0052694, filed on May 9, 2013, which is hereby incorporated byreference for all purposes as if fully set forth herein.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a method and an apparatus fornotification of a message reception according to a property of areceived message, and more particularly, to a method of differentlynotifying reception of messages according to the properties of themessages received in a terminal.

BACKGROUND

In a message transmission and reception between terminals, anotification signal for notifying an arrival of a message has beengenerally configured as one type of common notification signal accordingto a state configuration of a terminal. That is, a notification methodreflecting properties of messages, such as information on whether areceived message is a response message to a previous message transmittedfrom a terminal or information on whether the content of a receivedmessage requires an urgent processing, has not been used.

In some cases, it can be possible to configure different notificationmethods according to the types of messages, such as a voice message, anE-mail, a Short Message Service (SMS) message, or a MultiMedia Service(MMS) message, or the types of applications related to the receivedmessages. Further, in the case of normal phone call reception, it can bepossible to configure different ringtones according to callers.

However, even in this case, since the notification method may not beconfigured according to the property of each message, only a rough typeof a message or an application can be distinguished. Further, if thestate of a terminal has been configured as a silent mode or a vibrationmode, a notification method configured by the terminal itself can beemployed regardless of a notification configuration corresponding toreception of a message. Therefore, distinguishing between notificationmethods can be meaningless.

SUMMARY

To address the above-discussed deficiencies, it is a primary object toprovide a method and an apparatus, which can configure a notificationmethod reflecting properties of received messages such as an importantmessage, a message requiring the urgency, etc.

In accordance with an aspect of the present invention, there is provideda method for notification of a message reception by a first terminalaccording to a property of a received message. The method includesreceiving a message transmitted from a second terminal. The method alsoincludes analyzing the received message. The method further includesdetermining a notification method corresponding to the received messagebased on a result of the analyzing. The method includes outputting anotification signal according to the determined notification method.

In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, there isprovided an apparatus for notification of a message reception by a firstterminal according to the property of a received message. The apparatusincludes a message reception unit configured to receive a messagetransmitted from a second terminal. The apparatus also includes acontroller configured to analyze the received message, determine anotification method corresponding to the received message based on aresult of the analysis, and output a notification signal according tothe determined notification method.

According to a method and an apparatus for notification of a messagereception based on a property of a received message, a specificnotification method, instead of a notification method configuredaccording to a type of a message, is configured according to a propertyof a received message, such as an important message or an urgentmessage. Therefore, it is possible to distinguish the property of amessage and quickly identify the message by using only a notificationsignal.

Before undertaking the DETAILED DESCRIPTION below, it may beadvantageous to set forth definitions of certain words and phrases usedthroughout this patent document: the terms “include” and “comprise,” aswell as derivatives thereof, mean inclusion without limitation; the term“or,” is inclusive, meaning and/or; the phrases “associated with” and“associated therewith,” as well as derivatives thereof, may mean toinclude, be included within, interconnect with, contain, be containedwithin, connect to or with, couple to or with, be communicable with,cooperate with, interleave, juxtapose, be proximate to, be bound to orwith, have, have a property of, or the like; and the term “controller”means any device, system or part thereof that controls at least oneoperation, such a device may be implemented in hardware, firmware orsoftware, or some combination of at least two of the same. It should benoted that the functionality associated with any particular controllermay be centralized or distributed, whether locally or remotely.Definitions for certain words and phrases are provided throughout thispatent document, those of ordinary skill in the art should understandthat in many, if not most instances, such definitions apply to prior, aswell as future uses of such defined words and phrases.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

For a more complete understanding of the present disclosure and itsadvantages, reference is now made to the following description taken inconjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which like referencenumerals represent like parts:

FIG. 1 is an example block diagram for describing an internal structureof a terminal according to this disclosure;

FIG. 2 is an example diagram illustrating a notification process of amessage reception according to this disclosure;

FIGS. 3A to 3D are example diagrams illustrating notification methods acases in which a received message is a response message to a previouslytransmitted message according to this disclosure;

FIG. 4 is an example diagram illustrating an operation of a firstterminal according to this disclosure;

FIGS. 5A to 5C are example diagram illustrating notification methods incases in which a received message is an urgent message according to thisdisclosure;

FIG. 6 is an example diagram illustrating an operation of a firstterminal according to this disclosure;

FIGS. 7A to 7C are example diagrams illustrating notification methodsaccording to a surrounding environment of a terminal when a message isreceived according to this disclosure; and

FIG. 8 is an example diagram illustrating an operation of a firstterminal according to this disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIGS. 1 through 8, discussed below, and the various embodiments used todescribe the principles of the present disclosure in this patentdocument are by way of illustration only and should not be construed inany way to limit the scope of the disclosure. Those skilled in the artwill understand that the principles of the present disclosure may beimplemented in any suitably arranged communication system. Hereafter,various embodiments of the present invention will be described in detailwith reference to the accompanying drawings. In this case, it should beunderstood that the same reference numerals are given to the sameelements in the accompanying drawings. Further, a detailed descriptionof known functions and configurations disclosed herein will be omittedwhen it may make the subject matter of the present invention ratherunclear.

Further, although a main object of this disclosure will be a portableterminal such as a tablet PC, a smart phone, etc., which can be equippedwith a touch-type display, a main subject matter of this disclosure canalso be applied to the other terminals, in which similar techniques canbe implemented, by slight modifications without significantly departingfrom the scope of this disclosure.

FIG. 1 is an example block diagram for describing an internal structureof a terminal according to this disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 1, the terminal can include a communication unit 110,a signal processor 120, an input unit 130, a display unit 140, anotification unit 150, a storage unit 160, and a controller 170.

The communication unit 110 can transmit and receive data forcommunication of the terminal. For example, the communication unit 110can be configured with an RF transmitter, which can up-convert andamplify a frequency of a transmitted signal, and an RF receiver, whichlow noise can amplify a received signal and down-convert a frequency ofthe signal. Further, the communication unit 110 can receive data throughwired and wireless channels, output the data to a controller 170, andtransmit data received from the controller 170 through wired andwireless channels.

Further, the signal processor 120 can be configured with a codec, andcan convert a digital signal to an analog signal, or an analog signal toa digital signal through the codec. In an embodiment, the signalprocessor 120 can process an input through an input unit 130 or adisplay unit 140 and transmit the processed input to the controller 170

The input unit 130 can receive a user's operation input for controllinga terminal, generate an input signal, and transmit the input signal tothe controller 170. The input unit 130 can be implemented as a key paddevice including a number key, a direction key, and the like, and apredetermined function key can be integrally formed with the displayunit 140. Further, the input unit 130 including keys can be minimized oromitted when the display unit 140 is implemented as a touch-typedisplay.

The display unit 140 can visually provide menus of a terminal, inputdata from a user or an outside, function configuration information, andvarious other pieces of information to users. The display unit 140 canperform a function of outputting a booting screen, a waiting screen, amenu screen, a communication screen, and other application screens ofthe terminal. Furthermore, the display unit 140 can display a messagecreated in the terminal, a message received in the terminal, and anotification of a message reception, and provide a configuration screento configure a notification method according to a property of a receivedmessage.

The display unit 140 can be a Liquid Crystal Display (LCD), an OrganicLight Emitting Diode (OLED), an Active Matrix Organic Light EmittingDiode (AMOLED), a flexible display, 3D display and the like.

Meanwhile, the display unit 140 can include a touch sensor when thedisplay unit 140 is implemented as a touch-type display. The touchsensor can convert a change of capacitance, and the like occurring in aspecific site or pressure applied to a specific portion of the displayunit 140 into an electrical input signal. In this case, the touch sensorcan detect pressure at the time of touch as well as a touched positionand area.

For example, the touch sensor provided at the display unit 140 candetect user's touch pressure, generate a sensing signal, and transmitthe sensing signal to the controller 170. The sensing signal can includecoordinate information of a part touched by the user. If the user moves(such as drags) the touch in a state in which the user touches and holdsthe display unit 140, the touch sensor can create a sensing signalincluding coordinate information of a moving path and transmit thecreated sensing signal to the controller 170.

The touch sensor can be configured with a touch sensor, such as acapacitive overlay sensor, a resistive overlay sensor, a surfaceacoustic wave sensor, an infrared beam sensor, or a pressure sensor. Inaddition to these sensors, all types of sensor devices, which can detectcontact or pressure of an object, can be configured as the touch sensor.

The notification unit 150 can output a notification signal notifying anarrival of a received message according to the control of the controller170. To this end, the notification unit 150 can include an audio outputunit 152, a light emitting unit 154 configured with a light emittingdisplay such as a Light Emitting Diode (LED), and a motor unit 156.

The audio output unit 152 can output a notification signal in a soundtype, and the light emitting unit 154 can output a notification signalthrough a light emitting display such as a LED. In this case, a color ofthe notification signal, which is output through the light emittingdisplay, can be varied according to the property of the receivedmessage. The motor unit 156 can output a notification signal of avibration type. The notification signals can be outputted through theaudio output unit 152, the light emitting unit 154, and the motor unit156 described above, and the notification signal output through thedisplay unit 140 can be used for notification of a message reception ofa specific type. In this case, the respective notification signal can beused alone, or two or more notification signals can be used together.However, the types of the notification signals as described above areonly some embodiments of the present invention, and this disclosure caninclude all possible types of the notification signals according to animplementation type of a terminal.

The storage unit 160 can store programs and data required in anoperation of a terminal, and can be divided into a program region and adata region. The program region can store a program controlling theoverall operation of the terminal, an operating system (OS) controllingthe overall operation of a portable terminal, applications required forplaying multimedia contents, applications required for other optionalfunctions of the terminal, for example a voice conversation function, acamera function, a sound play function or an image or video playfunction, and the like. The data region can be an area for storing data,which can be created according to the use of the terminal or can beinput from an outside, and can store an image file, a video file, anaudio file, a document file, a message, and the like.

In an embodiment, the storage unit 160 can store a notification method,which can be configured according to the type of a received message. Thenotification method can be pre-configured during manufacturing of aterminal or can be configured by a user. Furthermore, the notificationmethod can be changed in some cases.

The controller 170 can control the overall operation for components of aterminal. The controller 170 can also include a received messageanalysis unit 172 and an output controller 174.

The received message analysis unit 172 can analyze a message receivedfrom a terminal to identify whether a common notification method fornotifying a reception of a general message is applied to the receivedmessage or whether a specific notification method configured inassociation with the received message exists, and determine anotification method for notifying an arrival of the received messagebased on a result of the identification. The output controller 174 cancontrol the display unit 140 or the notification unit 150 to output anotification signal according to the determined notification method.

FIG. 2 is an example diagram illustrating a message receptionnotification process according to this disclosure. The processillustrated in FIG. 2 can be performed by a first terminal havingreceived a message from a second terminal.

Referring to FIG. 2, the first terminal can receive a message from thesecond terminal in step 201. The received message can be a shortmessage, a multimedia message, an email, or the like. Next, the firstterminal can determine whether a common notification method, which isgenerally configured for a received message, is applied to the receivedmessage or whether a specific notification method, which can beconfigured specifically to a received message, exists, by analyzing thereceived message in step 202.

In step 203, the first terminal can determine a notification method fornotifying the arrival of the received message according to whether thenotification method, which can be specifically configured, exists in thereceived message based on a result of the analysis. If the specificnotification method has been configured, the first terminal can output anotification signal according to the notification method configured instep 204. If the specific notification method is not configured, thefirst terminal can output a common notification signal in step 205.

Specific embodiments of a notification method according to an analysisresult of a received message are described herein.

FIGS. 3A to 3D are example diagrams illustrating notification methods incases in which a received message is a response message to a previouslytransmitted message according to this disclosure.

Referring to FIGS. 3A to 3D, a message to be transmitted from the firstterminal to the second terminal can be created as illustrated in FIG.3A. In this event, when it is necessary to quickly identify a responsefrom the second terminal with respect to the created message or themessage being created, the first terminal provides a notificationconfiguration key 301 which allows a user to configure a specific methodfor being notified of the arrival of a response message from the secondterminal.

When the user selects a notification configuration key 301 providedthrough the display unit 140, the first terminal displays a notificationconfiguration menu 302 to allow the user to configures a specific methodfor notifying the user of the arrival of a response message from thesecond terminal, as shown in FIG. 3B. In the embodiment illustrated inFIGS. 3A to 3D, a notification method using a bell sound and a lightemitting unit is configured as the specific method for notifying theuser of the arrival of the response message.

When the response message is created in the second terminal as shown inFIG. 3C and is then transmitted to the first terminal, the firstterminal notifies the user of the arrival of the response message byturning on the light emitting unit 304 and outputting the bell soundthrough a speaker 305 while displaying a message 303 notifying the userof the arrival of the response message through the display unit 140 asshown in FIG. 3D.

FIG. 4 is an example diagram illustrating an operation of a firstterminal according to this disclosure. In an embodiment, the exampleoperation illustrated in FIG. 4 can be implemented in terminals such asthe terminals disclosed in FIGS. 3A to 3D.

Referring to FIG. 4, the first terminal can create an originationmessage to be transmitted to the second terminal in step 401, andconfigure a specific notification method for notifying a responsemessage received from the second terminal in step 402.

Thereafter, if the first terminal receives a message in step 403, thefirst terminal can determine whether the received message is a responsemessage from the second terminal, in step 404. The first terminal candetermine that the received message is a response message, when themessage has been originated from the second terminal and is receivedfrom the second terminal within a certain period of time after themessage has been transmitted from the first terminal.

If it is determined that the received message is a response message, thefirst terminal can output a response notification signal according to anotification method configured in association with the response message,in step 405. Otherwise, in step 406, the first terminal can output acommon notification signal according to a normal configuration of thefirst terminal itself.

Meanwhile, while the first terminal can configure the notificationmethod at the time of creating an origination message, the firstterminal can also receive a message having a specifically configurednotification method from the second terminal. For example, whilecreating a message to be transmitted to the first terminal, the secondterminal can configure a specific notification method when the secondterminal determines that it is required for the first terminal toquickly identify the message.

The first terminal having received a message from the second terminalcan analyze the received message to determine whether the receivedmessage includes a notification method configured specifically to thereceived message. Then, if the received message includes a specificallyconfigured notification method, the first terminal can output anotification signal according to the notification method specificallyconfigured by the second terminal regardless of the notificationconfiguration of the second terminal itself.

FIGS. 5A to 5C are example diagrams illustrating notification methods incases in which a received message is an urgent message.

Referring to FIGS. 5A to 5C, the first terminal can provide a messagenotification configuration menu so that a notification method can beconfigured according to the property of a received message asillustrated in FIG. 5A. The notification configuration menu can includea notification configuration menu 501 for each message, which caninclude menu items of a notification message configuration 502, anotification sound mode configuration 503, and a light emitting unitconfiguration 504 as detail configuration items.

The notification message configuration menu item 502 can allowconfiguration of contents or a display type of a notification messagefor notifying an arrival of a message displayed through the display unit140. The notification sound mode configuration menu item 503 can allowat least one of sound, vibration and silence to be configured as a typeof a notification sound. Further, a lighting cycle and color of a lightemitting display, such as an LED, can be configured through the lightemitting configuration menu item 504.

After the notification method in a case in which an urgent message isreceived is configured as described above, when a message reading, forexample, “please give me contact before you leave work today” isreceived from the second terminal as illustrated in FIG. 5B, the firstterminal can analyze the contents of the message through a processingsuch as Natural Language Understanding (NLU) for the received message.For example, when words such as “today”, “fast”, “quickly”, or “contact”are included in the message or when it is determined that the messagehas an urgent content through a combination of words, the correspondingmessage can be determined as an urgent message.

If it is determined by understanding the context of the received messagethat the received message is the urgent message, the first terminal cannotify the arrival of the urgent message as illustrated in FIG. 5C. Asthe notification method, an arrival notification message 505 notifyingarrival of an urgent message can be an output through the display unit140, a light emitting unit 506 can be turned on, or a notificationsignal can be output through a speaker 507.

FIG. 6 is an example diagram illustrating an operation of a firstterminal according to this disclosure. In an embodiment, the exampleoperation illustrated in FIG. 6 can be implemented in terminals such asthe terminals disclosed in FIGS. 5A to 5C.

Referring to FIG. 6, the first terminal can receive a message in step601, and then analyze the context of the received message throughnatural language processing, etc. in step 602. As a result of theanalysis, if it is determined in step 603 that the received message isan urgent message, the first terminal can determine whether anotification method in a case in which an urgent message was receivedhas been configured in step 604.

When a specific notification method for an urgent message has beenconfigured, the first terminal can output an urgent notification signalaccording to a configured notification method in step 605. However, whenit is determined in step 603 that the received message is not an urgentmessage, or when it is determined in step 604 that a notification methodfor the reception of the urgent message has not been configured, thefirst terminal can output a common notification signal according to theconfiguration of the terminal itself in step 606.

FIGS. 7A to 7C are example diagrams illustrating notification methodsaccording to a surrounding environment of a terminal when a message isreceived. The embodiment of FIGS. 7A to 7C can be applied together withthe notification method according to an analysis result of a receivedmessage as described above, or prior to a notification method configuredaccording to the property of a message.

Referring to FIGS. 7A to 7C, the first terminal can provide a messagenotification configuration menu 701 so that a notification method can beconfigured according to a surrounding environment of the terminal asillustrated in FIG. 7A. Further, a brightness configuration item 702, anoise configuration item 703, and a movement configuration item 704 canbe included as detail configuration items of the notificationconfiguration menu for each situation.

The brightness configuration item 702 can allow the notification methodto be differently determined based on a detected illumination of thesurrounding of the first terminal. To this end, an illumination sensorcan be included in the first terminal. The noise configuration item 703can allow the notification method to be differently determined based ona measured noise of the surrounding of the first terminal and can allowthe notification method to be determined according to the level of noiseinput through a microphone included in the first terminal. The movementconfiguration item 704 can allow the notification method to bedifferently determined according to whether the first terminal is in amoving state or in a stopped state. To this end, an acceleration sensorcan be included in the first terminal.

After the notification method is configured according to the surroundingsituation of the terminal at the time of message reception as describedabove, when a message is received from the second terminal asillustrated in FIG. 7B, the first terminal can identify the surroundingsituation of the first terminal while analyzing the received message asdescribed above. Next, the first terminal can output a notificationsignal by further determining the notification method according to thesurrounding situation of the first terminal simultaneously whiledetermining the notification method according to the analysis of thereceived message as illustrated in FIG. 7C.

For example, when the current surrounding illumination measured by anillumination sensor of the first terminal is lower than a pre-configuredreference illumination, even if a notification method through a lightemitting unit is not included in the notification method determinedaccording to the analysis of the received message, the first terminalcan optionally add the notification method through the light emittingunit. Further, as a result of measurement of surrounding noise of thefirst terminal, if the level of the surrounding noise of the firstterminal is higher than that of a pre-configured reference noise, thefirst terminal can increase the sound level of the notification signalwhen the notification by sound has been included in the notificationmethod determined according to the received message analysis, and canoptionally add the notification method using vibration. Furthermore, asa result of determining by an acceleration sensor whether the firstterminal is moving, a notification method using sound can be determinedif the first terminal is in a moving state, and a notification methodusing vibration can be determined if the first terminal is in a stoppedstate.

FIG. 8 is an example diagram illustrating an operation of a firstterminal according to this disclosure. In an embodiment, the exampleoperation illustrated in FIG. 8 can be implemented in terminals such asthe terminals disclosed in FIGS. 7A to 7C.

As mentioned above, the process of FIG. 8 can be performed at the sametime with the process of FIG. 4 or FIG. 6, or can be performed prior tothe process of FIG. 4 or FIG. 6.

Referring to FIG. 8, the first terminal can receive a message in step801, and then analyze a surrounding state of the first terminal in step802.

If it is determined in step 803 that the surrounding illumination of thefirst terminal is lower than the reference illumination, the firstterminal can further determine the notification method through an LED instep 804. If it is determined in step 805 that the level of thesurrounding noise of the first terminal is higher than that of referencenoise, the first terminal can control the level of the notificationsound or further determine the notification method using vibration instep 806. As a result of the determination in step 807 on whether theterminal is moving, if it is determined that the terminal is stopped,the first terminal can further determine the notification method usingvibration in step 808.

Those skilled in the art will recognize that the other specificembodiments of the present invention can be practiced without changingthe technical spirit or the essential features of the present invention.Therefore, it is to be understood that the embodiments described aboveare for the purpose of describing an example and not of limitation inall aspects. The scope of the present invention is represented by thefollowing claims rather than a detailed description described above, andit should be interpreted that all modification derived from the meaningand scope of the claims, and the equivalent concepts are included withinthe scope of the present invention.

Although the present disclosure has been described with an exemplaryembodiment, various changes and modifications may be suggested to oneskilled in the art. It is intended that the present disclosure encompasssuch changes and modifications as fall within the scope of the appendedclaims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for an electronic device, comprising:while displaying an outgoing message from the electronic device,displaying a visual user interface element associated with anotification setting for an arrival of a message related to the outgoingmessage, wherein the notification setting enables a specificnotification to be output when the message related to the outgoingmessage is received by the electronic device; and setting thenotification setting for the arrival of the message related to theoutgoing message through a user input with respect to the visual userinterface element.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the outgoingmessage is being drafted.
 3. The method of claim 1, further comprising:outputting the specific notification in response to the arrival of themessage related to the outgoing message.
 4. The method of claim 3,further comprising: outputting a normal notification when a messagewhich is not the message related to the displayed outgoing message isreceived.
 5. The method of claim 4, wherein the normal notification isdifferent from the specific notification.
 6. The method of claim 1,wherein the outgoing message comprises one of a short message, amultimedia message, and an email message.
 7. The method of claim 1,wherein the message related to the outgoing message comprises a reply tothe outgoing message.
 8. The method of claim 1, wherein the specificnotification comprises at least one of sound notification, hapticnotification, and visual notification.
 9. The method of claim 8, whereinthe specific notification is configured according to one or moreuser-selected option.
 10. A method for an electronic device, comprising:receiving a message by a communication unit of the electronic device;determining whether the message is related to specific outgoing messagewhich was sent from the electronic device, the electronic device beingset to output a specific notification in response to receiving a messagerelated to the specific outgoing message; outputting the specificnotification if the message is related to the specific outgoing message;and outputting a normal notification if the message is not related tothe specific outgoing message.
 11. The method of claim 10, wherein thenormal notification is different from the specific notification.
 12. Themethod of claim 10, wherein the message comprises a reply to thespecific outgoing message, and also comprises one of a short message, amultimedia message, and an email message.
 13. The method of claim 10,wherein the specific notification comprises at least one of a soundnotification, a haptic notification, and a visual notification.
 14. Themethod of claim 10, wherein a configuration of the specific notificationis set according to one or more user-selected options.
 15. The method ofclaim 10, wherein the electronic device is set, based on a user inputassociated with the specific outgoing message, to output the specificnotification in response to receiving the message related to thespecific outgoing message.
 16. The method of claim 10, wherein theelectronic device is set when the specific outgoing message is beingdrafted, based on a user input associated with the specific outgoingmessage, to output the specific notification in response to receivingthe message related to the specific outgoing message.
 17. An electronicdevice, comprising: a communication unit; a display unit; an input unit;and a controller configured to: while an outgoing message from theelectronic device is displayed on the display unit, control the displayunit to display a visual user interface element associated with anotification setting for an arrival of a message related to the outgoingmessage, wherein the notification setting enables a specificnotification to be output when the message related to the outgoingmessage is received via the communication unit, and set the notificationsetting for the arrival of the message related to the outgoing messagethrough a user input with respect to the visual user interface element.18. The electronic device of claim 17, wherein the outgoing message isbeing drafted.
 19. The electronic device of claim 17, furthercomprising: a notification unit, wherein the controller is configured tocontrol the notification unit to output the specific notification inresponse to the arrival of the message related to the outgoing message.20. The electronic device of claim 19, wherein the controller isconfigured to control the notification unit to output a normalnotification when a message which is not the message related to thedisplayed outgoing message is received.
 21. The electronic device ofclaim 20, wherein the normal notification is different from the specificnotification.
 22. The electronic device of claim 17, wherein theoutgoing message comprises one of a short message, a multimedia message,and an email message.
 23. The electronic device of claim 17, wherein themessage related to the outgoing message comprises a reply to theoutgoing message.
 24. The electronic device of claim 17, wherein thespecific notification comprises at least one of sound notification,haptic notification, and visual notification.
 25. The electronic deviceof claim 24, wherein the specific notification is configured accordingto one or more user-selected option.
 26. An electronic device,comprising: a communication unit; a notification unit; and a controllerconfigured to: determine whether a message received via thecommunication unit is related to a specific outgoing message which wassent from the electronic device, the controller being set to control thenotification unit to output a specific notification in response toreceiving a message related to the specific outgoing message; controlthe notification unit to output the specific notification if thereceived message is related to the specific outgoing message; andcontrol the notification unit to output a normal notification if thereceived message is not related to the specific outgoing message. 27.The electronic device of claim 26, wherein the normal notification isdifferent from the specific notification.
 28. The electronic device ofclaim 26, wherein the message comprises a reply to the specific outgoingmessage, and also comprises one of a short message, a multimediamessage, and an email message.
 29. The electronic device of claim 26,wherein the specific notification comprises at least one of a soundnotification, a haptic notification, and a visual notification.
 30. Theelectronic device of claim 26, wherein a configuration of the specificnotification is set according to one or more user-selected options. 31.The electronic device of claim 26, further comprising: an input unit,wherein the specific notification in response to receiving the messagerelated to the specific outgoing message is set by the controller basedon a user input via the input unit associated with the specific outgoingmessage.
 32. The electronic device of claim 26, further comprising: aninput unit, wherein the specific notification is set by user input whenthe specific outgoing message is being drafted, via the input unit. 33.An electronic device, comprising: a communication unit; a display unit;an input unit; and a controller configured to: while an outgoing messagefrom the electronic device is displayed on the display unit, control thedisplay unit to display a visual user interface element associated witha notification setting for an arrival of a reply to the outgoingmessage, wherein the notification setting enables a specificnotification to be output when the reply to the outgoing message isreceived via the communication unit, and set the notification settingfor the arrival of the reply to the outgoing message through a userinput with respect to the visual user interface element, wherein theoutgoing message comprises one of a short message, a multimedia message,and an email message, and wherein the specific notification isconfigured according to one or more user-selected options and comprisesat least one of sound notification, haptic notification, and visualnotification.
 34. The electronic device of claim 33, further comprising:a notification unit, wherein the controller is configured to control thenotification unit to output the specific notification in response to thearrival of the reply to the outgoing message.
 35. The electronic deviceof claim 34, wherein the controller is configured to control thenotification unit to output a normal notification when a message whichis not the reply to the displayed outgoing message is received.
 36. Anelectronic device, comprising: a communication unit; a notificationunit; and a controller configured to: determine whether a messagereceived via the communication unit is a reply to a specific outgoingmessage which was sent from the electronic device, the controller beingset to control the notification unit to output a specific notificationin response to receiving a reply to the specific outgoing message;control the notification unit to output the specific notification if thereceived message is a reply to the specific outgoing message; andcontrol the notification unit to output a normal notification if thereceived message is not a reply to the specific outgoing message,wherein the normal notification is different from the specificnotification, wherein the specific outgoing message comprises one of ashort message, a multimedia message, and an email message, and whereinthe specific notification is configured according to one or moreuser-selected options and comprises at least one of sound notification,haptic notification, and visual notification.
 37. The electronic deviceof claim 36, wherein the specific notification output in response toreceiving a reply to the specific outgoing message is set by user inputassociated with the outgoing message.
 38. The electronic device of claim36, wherein the specific notification is set by user input when thespecific outgoing message is being drafted.